The invention relates to a circuit breaker with a quenching baffle arrangement that includes a sheet metal guide for the arc in the region of the contact bridge on the side thereof facing away from the stationary contact parts. The longitudinal axis of the guide extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the contact bridge. The guide has bent ends in the vicinity of the ends of the contact bridge.
In alternating-current air circuit-breakers, the time for extinguishing the arc within the capacity limits of the breaker is generally one to two half-waves. To prevent the arc from standing during this time at the contact of the contact bridge, a sheet metal guide for the arc is mounted above the contact bridge to take over the arc. Although the burn-off loss at the bridge is less and the bridge can be of lighter construction, the travel properties of the arc in the quenching baffle arrangement of the kind mentioned above as well as in German Patent No. 898,019 are influenced detrimentally by the sheet-metal arc guide because the ends of the guide bent toward the contact bridge permit the arc to enter between the bridge and the guide, so that arc starting points form on the damping leaf spring which rests on the contact bridge thereby harmfully affecting the resilience of the leaf spring.